A takeaway operator has clashed with Redbridge Council and the Metropolitan Police over a bid to close later.
The owners of a Rio’s Piri Piri franchise, in Ilford, have applied for permission to close at 3am – three hours later than their current closing time.
At night, the venue would be takeaway-only and no alcohol would be sold to customers.
A representative for Rios said the business had been affected, like many similar, by recent increases in the cost of food, energy and supplies.
He said the later hours would help them “maintain the viability” of their business, which started trading on 22nd February this year.
However, they were challenged at a licensing hearing on 22 July over a previous incident where they caught trading until 12am, an hour over what they were allowed.
PC Dean Birch, of the Metropolitan Police, said the incident had left them with “little faith” in the operators’ ability to uphold their licence.
Redbridge\’s licensing committee.
Image: LBR
The operators said this was down to “misleading” planning permission, which says the takeaway could operate until 3am but did not specify a separate licence was needed. They said they “definitely did not [do it] deliberately”.
For the past two months, they have stopped serving food at 11pm – though staff have stayed later to “thoroughly” clean the premises – they said.
The Met and the council’s licensing department also warned another late takeaway could worsen antisocial behaviour (ASB) in Ilford Lane.
It is one of three cumulative impact zones (CIZs) in the borough, which have been designated crime hotspots by the council and police. It is expected that applications to extend licensing hours are refused.
In a formal objection, PC Birch said Ilford Lane “already suffers with crime and disorder, street drinking, prostitution and antisocial behaviour”.
He said the council and police officers had been “working tirelessly” to tackle these issues, and “continuing to add further venues with late- night licences would have a detrimental impact on the area”.
Nayyer Sheikh, who applied for the licence, has nine years’ experience in the Met and knows how to handle “unruly” customers, the committee was told. He will also be able to train staff to deal with people being disruptive to neighbours, the operators said.
A decision will be made by the committee, made up of elected councillors, within the next week.
It is currently open between midday and 11pm seven days a week.
